If you’ve bought a polygel nail kit but don’t have slip solution on hand you may wonder, “can I use water as a slip solution for polygel?”
After all, water is safe, non-toxic, easily accessible. However, before you attempt using it please read the info below. This article contains the answer you’ve been looking for along with a detailed explanation of what you can replace slip solution with.
Can I use water as a slip solution for polygel?
The simple answer is no, you can’t use water as a slip solution for polygel nails.
Here’s why, plus some info on
what other easily accessible and
budget-friendly liquids you can use instead.
Read on:
What is slip solution?
As you may already know, polygel is formulated to work with slip solution or an adequate substitute.
A slip solution is necessary to ease the shaping and smoothing of polygel nails.
It eliminates friction and prevents the material from being tacky and sticking to the brush.
It also helps you to move the material around the forms and the nail plate.
If you dip the brush into this liquid you’ll be surprised how much easier it is to use polygel with it.
This solution is not similar to an acrylic monomer. It’s an entirely different product that is free from any unpleasant odors or toxic fumes.
It doesn’t activate curing and has no impact on the amount of time you can take to shape your nails to perfection before you dry them.
What is slip solution made of?
Slip solution is based on Isopropyl Alcohol with some other additives.
Isopropyl Alcohol is a non-toxic liquid that is often used in the beauty and nail industries for cleansing properties.
Nail techs use it for wiping surfaces clean and for basic sterilizing of some of their equipment.
It’s also an excellent nail plate cleanser, disinfectant, and helps you to remove natural oils from the nail plate.
All nail technicians recommend using 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to cleanse the natural nail plate as one of the first prep steps before applying polygel or gel nail polish.
The good news is that slip solution is easy to substitute, even though professional nail techs don’t recommend doing it.
What can I replace it with?
First, you can replace it with Isopropyl Alcohol that I’ve mentioned above and that actually occupies the first place on the slip solution’s ingredients list.
It has some of the properties of slip solution and does a pretty decent job of eliminating friction and making polygel easy to slide around the nail.
You can also use any 70% or higher rubbing alcohol instead of slip solution.
However, you can’t use water as a substitute for polygel slip solution.
Why can’t I use water as a slip solution for polygel?
This is because alcohol over 70% after it has performed its function of eliminating friction and stickiness, evaporates quickly and leaves no residue on the natural nail plate and the polygel material.
But water can’t evaporate so quickly at room temperature or even under a UV lamp.
Water stays on the nail and the polygel material.
Curing your nails doesn’t help water to evaporate.
And moisture prevents your nail extensions or nail overlay from adhering to the nail plate properly.
After all, one of the most important steps of nail prep for polygel nails is the dehydration of the nail plate.
You need to dry your hands and remove all the moisture from the nail plate before you put any material on it because water or perspiration won’t let the material stick.
You may have noticed, for example, that your nail polish doesn’t stay if you’ve applied it after you have washed your hands but haven’t dried them properly.
People with hyperhidrosis may also notice that their nails don’t stay on well because their hands produce too much perspiration.
That’s why putting water on your nails instead of slip solution or its proper substitute will only create unnecessary moisture.
This will make your polygel nails lift from your natural nail’s surface almost immediately.
You’ll just waste your time creating these extensions only to ruin them in the process.
So stay away from water for this purpose.
After all, no slip solution ever contains water on its list of ingredients for a reason.
Any alcohol under 70% won’t be of any use either because it contains too much water that won’t evaporate as quickly as alcohol does.
For this same reason, you can’t use vodka as a slip solution for polygel nails because vodka only contains 40% of alcohol.
The rest is water plus other ingredients that can also leave residue on the nails.
What should I use instead of water?
You can use rubbing alcohol instead of water as a slip solution for polygel.
I’m pretty sure many people have rubbing alcohol somewhere in their homes.
Or you can easily buy it because it’s a very accessible and budget-friendly product.
Cons of slip solution substitutes
However, I have to warn you that any substitute is not ideal either because it may dehydrate the skin around your nails, ruin the brush, or change the composition of polygel that will have an impact on its texture and longevity.
So I strongly recommend that you only use slip solution after all instead of water or other substitutes.
Only use rubbing alcohol if you’ve run out of slip solution and need to finish your nails right there and then.
It’s not a great way to save the budget by utilizing this kind of substitute because you may end up with extra costs of getting new brushes that you’ll be forced to replace more often.
Recommended reading:
Best Polygel Nail Kit Reviews And How To Apply Polygel At Home
Best Glitter Polygel Nail Kits
Best And Safest Neon Polygel Nail Kits
Best Polygel Dual Forms For Perfect Nail Extensions
Is Polygel Bad For Your Nails? 9 Reasons Why It’s Safe
How To Dry Polygel Without A UV Light
What Is Polygel Made Of? Polygel Ingredients Explained
Best Professional Gel Nail Polish Brands Used In Salons
Non-Toxic Gel Nail Polish Brands 101: Choose The Safest Gel Nail Polish
Best No Light Gel Polish — Gel Nail Polish Without UV Light
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